IMPACT: Philbrook Indian Annual
and a little Thankfulness
In 1949 to 1979 the Philbrook Museum hosted an on going juried contemporary art show of Native American paintings called "The Philbrook Indian Annual". Not only was this exhibit an important event for Philbrook but also for Native American artists. Unlike other exhibits of Native works of baskets, fiber arts, and ceramics this particular show had a heavy focus on paintings (both representational and abstract). As the "Philbrook Indian Annual" progressed questions arose around the true definition of what Native artwork is and what it should be. Today, Philbrook curator Christina Burke has revisited those questions by pulling together pieces from the original "Philbrook Indian Annual" (1949 - 1979) forming the current exhibition "IMPACT: The Philbrook Indian Annual, 1946-1979". This exhibit was this months focus for Art Focus.
Throughout the years I've discovered that the participants seem to respond better to works of art that have recognizable subject matter rather than something abstract and unidentifiable. With this in mind, choosing the right piece of art to focus on this month was a challenge. There were plenty of artworks with realist content however the paintings were small in size. People with Alzheimer's sometimes have trouble with
depth perception and with our growing numbers of participation I knew that if I focused on one small painting not everyone would be able to be involved in the discussion. So I decided to try something new and divide our focus on six pieces of art instead of one and also find a way to utilize the well received Think Pair Share discussion method.
In preparation I had the gallery chairs placed facing Patrick Swazo Hinds painting Calling of the Kachina Gods. When everyone was seated in front of the painting I shared with everyone that I was going to attempt to model how to thoughtfully and creatively approach a painting before.
Observe and Describe "What do you see in this painting?" ... "I see faces" ... "The faces are covered in war paint" ... "They are under the moonlight" ... "There's agony" ... "Celebration" ... "Something spiritual" ... "Radiance" ... "Wind" | Interpret "What do you think is happening in this painting?" ... "They are preparing for battle" ..."The faces are crying" ... "Calling for help"... "It's worship, they are worshiping" ... "They're ancestors or Gods of the Tribes" ... "I think they're dancing under the moon." |
Verify "What makes you say that?" (Asked in response to the participants interpretations of the piece.) I "Spiritual, because of the faces. They look like spirits." I "The faces are covered in war paint. It's a battle. I know because I read a lot of history books. (The man then continued to name all the Oklahoman Indian Tribe names!)" I "They're Gods. My uncle made a stained glass of Kachina Dolls. It reminds me of this painting." I "The light source is soft and above. They're under the moon." | Title "What would you name this painting?" I "Celebrating the Tribe" I "War Dance of Gods" I "Calls of the diseased" I "Under the Moon" I "Dancing faces" After a couple guesses I revealed to the group the real title of the painting. "Calling of the Kachina Gods". Everyone seemed satisfied with this knowledge and one lady even said she was happy because her guess was very close to the truth. |
After modeling one way to look at a painting I divided the group down the middle and into two. Half of the group were assigned the two paintings to the left of the "Calling of the Kachina Gods" and everyone else were assigned the three paintings to it's right. I asked everyone to use the same questions we asked ourselves when looking at the Hinds painting and apply it to one or two paintings they were assigned to discuss. I also invited everyone to stand up, move around and examine the art up close.
sitting by herself. I went over to her and learned that her name is Pauline and she likes paintings. I asked her what she thinks of the paintings in front of her and she put her hands in her lap and answered, "I'm from Ireland... Texas, I moved to Texas and this painting makes me think of that." I asked her what about the painting makes her think of Texas. Pauline thought for a moment, staring intently on the Hill painting. "My neighbors would wear those hats," she said pointing to the men in the painting, "and everyone knew not to bother them when they wore those hats." I asked her questions about her neighborhood in Texas and she said, "I love Houston... I love the country, just like the Native Americans."
In the studios...
A couple months back I talked to one of sweetest and most thoughtful ladies you'll ever meet named Sharon. Sharon works at a local resident facility and dedicated her time on the spiritual and emotional aspects of life with her patients. She shared with me about the time she had filled balloons with acrylic paint and attached them to a large canvas. One by one Sharon invited each participant with Alzheimer's to pop a balloon. What Sharon loved about this project was that each participant received a hands on experience by walking up to the paint filled balloons and releasing the paint. The participants could stand in front of the canvas and stare in wonder while watching the paint drip down the canvas. Also when each balloon had been popped, together the participants had worked to complete one beautifully vibrant abstract artwork. I love Sharon's story and it's what inspired me for our studio time. "I paint. All the time. But never with this material!" |
November. It is the month where leaves transform from summer green to fiery red and people everywhere begin to reflect on the things in life that fill their hearts with thankfulness. With Thanksgiving right around the corner how perfect was it for our group to look at Native American artwork in the galleries?!
In July we made art with tissue paper and it was a lot of fun. Tissue paper also has a delicate quality as well as colors that match the falling autumn leaves. For this project I had all the participants take a large sheet of blue tissue paper and glue it down onto a piece of cardstock paper. After the participants placed a long strip of yellow tissue paper along the bottom edge of the blue. This created a healthy grassy green ground. Tissue paper is transparent and yellow and blue of course make green. After allowing the glue to dry I taught everyone how to draw a simple tree. Each participant used a sharpie marker to draw two parallel lines sticking up from the green creating a tree trunk. Then they made the branches by drawing a series of "V"'s inside and around each other. After the trees were drawn, everyone took some brown tempera paint and filled in their trunk and branches. I encouraged the group to use alternate colors and also paint details on the ground and in the sky to make their painting their own.
The day before the program I took red, yellow and green construction paper and cut out different leaf shapes. I would have had the group cut out their own leaves however I thought we might run out of time. (I left scissors on the tables just in case someone wanted to create their own leaf.) Using their sharpie markers again I asked everyone to think about the things in their lives that they are thankful for and write it down on a leaf. Not everyone could write so I asked the care partners to assist with this part. As the participants were gluing their leaves to their trees I asked them to share with the person next to them what they wrote and why. It was a beautiful moment of sharing life and stories of things thankful for.
With Sharon's group art project in mind I created a large tree and hung it on one of the studio walls. I invited everyone to take one of their leaves and walk over where the large tree hung and past it to it's branches. Together we made a tree full of personal thanks.
"Grace," she sighed and while placing a tiny shaky hand over her heart. A woman with worn eyes looked at her tree and said, "My husband recently passed away. Grace is the only thing that keeps me going," I helped her attach a leaf with the word grace on it to her painting as she continued, "It's how I live, why I wake up. I'm thankful for God's grace."